Chapter 17

When Percy finally woke up, he instantly started looking around. He could barely think, let alone remember what had even happened. All he remembered was being dragged before everything went black.

The back of his head felt raw, it seemed to throb with every passing moment. His vision danced as his world seemed to spin around. He really hoped he hadn't suffered some serious brain damage from hitting his head but he figured if Jason could take a brick to the face, he was probably fine.

It seemed the gods of brain damage were listening in because shortly after waking up, his vision started to settle. The throbbing was still there but he was feeling a little bit better, he felt good enough to take a look around to see where he had been dragged off to.

At first, he didn't recognize his surroundings. He was in a living room, at least that's what he could tell with the turned off flat screen TV and leather couch, but he wasn't in any living room he'd been in before. His mom's living room was decorated with various pictures of her and Percy, this living room had no pictures whatsoever.

Percy couldn't help but feel exposed, like he was in an open field being watched by a predator. He tried turning around to see if there was someone behind him but he quickly found he could barely move.

That's when he realized his hands and feet were chained. The clinking of chains basically told him that there was no escaping. The metal was cold against his wrists and ankles.

Where am I? He thought to himself.

Then his eyes landed on a rug, one that he'd seen before. His mind flashed back to seeing an old man moving the rug to expose a marking. It hit him right then and there, he was in that apartment.

"Ah, you're awake!" A woman's voice cheerfully said.

Percy turned his head to face his kidnapper. He'd recognize those cruel red eyes anywhere. Oizys was standing in the doorway of the living room, her blood-red dress fluttering as she shifted.

"Let me go!" He struggled against the chains.

"It's no use, Percy." Oizys said as she walked into the room, "You might be strong but I know you can't break through solid steel. There's no water around here for you to use and that pen of yours is just out of reach."

Percy really didn't want to believe her but his gut told him that she was right. He doubted that it was completely impossible to escape but he also doubted that it would be easy, especially with this goddess watching him.

"You know, I thought the Hunters would put up more of a defense considering they were trying to capture you." The goddess said as she sat in front of him and crossed her legs, "But they let me waltz right in and take you right out from under them. Perhaps they didn't really care about you after all."

"Alright, what the fuck do you want?" Percy asked, "I know you didn't kidnap me just so you could talk to me."

The goddess laughed at his disrespect, which was not the reaction he was expecting, "That is exactly why I kidnapped you. You see, I'm not some arrogant buffoon like Ares who has to use brute force to get what they want, I have…better methods. You have something that I want, Percy, and I'm going to get it whether you want to give it to me or not."

"Just get to the point!"

Oizys smiled, "I want to see you suffer. It's been so long since I've fed on a son of Poseidon's pain and now, I have the perfect opportunity."

Percy nearly shook his head at the audacity of this bitch, she said she wasn't arrogant yet she acted like she was going to be able to hurt him more than he'd already been hurt. You see, there was a silver-lining to falling into Tartarus, now that he was out, he knew he could survive anything that could be thrown at him.

When Oizys stood and walked up to him, he thought she was about to cut him or something but instead, she put a finger under his chin and tilted his head up to look at her. The gesture was oddly tender for a goddess of her caliber.

"Poor boy." She said like she was looking at a beaten dog, "I can see you've been through a lot."

"Fuck off." He spat.

She snickered at his response, "Pathetic response. I see why that girlfriend of yours doesn't want anything to do with you."

"Annabeth?" He said, "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, you don't know?" She tilted her head, "Maybe you're too clueless but it's quite obvious to anyone watching, she's falling out of love with you."

"What?"

Oizys sighed and sat next to him, crossing her legs and stroking her chin, "It's quite common for you mortals, you end up finding out that your knight in shining armor turns out to be just a village idiot in a costume. She's probably planning on running off with that son of Jupiter back at your camp."

"Annabeth wouldn't do that." He countered.

"Ah, I would be careful there." She warned, "Mortals are capable of many horrid things. Think about it, Jason is better-looking than you, comes with less baggage, and is the new leader of your camp. It's quite the package deal."

"Shut up."

"Looks like I hit a nerve." Oizys giggled, "Yet everything I've said thus far is the truth. Your camp refused to believe you despite your pleas. Annabeth put you through days of torture despite the fact that she knew how much you were suffering. Your own father didn't even respond to your pleas for help. Can't you see, Percy? People only love you for what you can do for them, not because of who you actually are."

Percy's fists clenched. He knew what this goddess was doing, she was trying to worm her way into his head and get into his feelings. The worst part of it all was that it was working. She was right, Poseidon hadn't answered his prayers at all and camp did accuse him of shit he didn't do. The only part that was keeping him anchored was the idea that Annabeth didn't know what she had put him through.

Oizys seemed to have read his mind because the next thing she said was, "If Annabeth truly cared about your wellbeing, she would've stopped the second she saw you miss multiple meals. She didn't care that you had to work your fingers to the bone on an empty stomach, all she cared about was winning a race. If she truly loved you, she wouldn't have consorted with Jason while you suffered. I'm not Aphrodite but it's quite obvious what's happening."

"You don't know what you're talking about." Percy said through gritted teeth.

"Just admit it, Percy." She said, "The only one who cares about you is your mother and even she will die. Then you will be all alone, surrounded by people who could care less if you were to die tomorrow. Sure, they'd be sad for a day, mourning the loss of their errand boy, but it would only be a matter of time before they move on and find another pawn. No one cares about you, give up the facade."

Percy didn't say anything, he didn't want to give her anymore ammunition against him.

"It's quite cruel really." Oizys sighed, "Perhaps if you were a son of Zeus, these issues wouldn't plague you. Maybe more of your friends would've survived. Think about how much the ability to fly would've helped you when you were on that ship with your friend and Kronos."

"Keep Beckendorf out of this!" Percy said, he knew he shouldn't have said anything but he didn't need this goddess muddling his name.

"Ah, Beckendorf, that was his name." She said, though Percy suspected she knew that already, "If only he was here, his pain would be quite delicious too. Seriously, imagine having a traitor for a girlfriend. So much for love, that girl was the reason he died in the end." When he didn't respond, she instead said, "You know, you two are quite similar. You both had girlfriends who led you astray, the only difference is Annabeth didn't kill her toy. If it weren't for her, you would've never fallen into Tartarus. Speaking of which, how has she repaid your sacrifice?"

Percy gritted his teeth, he wanted to tell her to fuck off, Annabeth didn't need to repay him for something he chose to do.

"Exactly." Oizys replied to his silence, "She used you. Annabeth Chase is selfish, that's probably the only reason she's accompanying you now, she sees a chance for more fame. If you fail, I bet you she will let you fall to save herself."

Percy kept his mouth shut and bit his tongue, he wouldn't stoop to her level.

"Fine, you don't want to talk," Oizys said while getting up, "I'll just get the pain out of you a different way." She walked behind him and placed a finger on his forehead.

At first, he didn't understand what she was doing, he thought this was just some sort of bluff. Then it felt like a needle had just been hammered through his skull. He couldn't help but scream. He jerked his head, trying to get her finger off but she put her forearm under his chin to keep him still.

"Stay still!" She growled.

Seconds turned to minutes, the pain grew stronger and stronger. It felt like she was ripping his synapses apart one by one. His voice started to go hoarse from screaming in pain. His vision blurred and spun around as if he'd been thrown inside a washing machine.

Then as quickly as it started, it stopped. Oizys took her finger off his head and released him, "I can't have you dying now, there's still so much more inside of you that I haven't harvested." She walked out of the room and closed the door.

Percy felt physically exhausted even though he hadn't even moved from his spot on the floor. He wasn't sure what she had done to him but he was not going to stick around for her to do it again. He wrestled with his chains, hoping that he could find some sort of way to break or unlock them. The will to escape was the only thing keeping him awake and even then, he knew he was running on borrowed time.

Eventually, his time ran out and he ended up falling on his side. His cheek painfully hit the floor as his eyes slowly drooped.

Ω

Percy was on Olympus in his dream. At first, he wondered what had summoned him to Olympus, this was the last place he wanted to be. Full offense to the gods, he really didn't want to be anywhere near them at the moment.

Most of what Oizys said could be ignored, he could just throw it aside as some sad attempt by a petty little goddess to rattle his cage, but there was one thing that she had said that was one hundred percent true: Poseidon had never answered his plea for help. Percy couldn't explain away his father's silence.

The sound of yelling could be heard from somewhere close by. When Percy turned to the direction the noise was coming from, he found himself looking at the throne room. Since this was a dream, he doubted there would be any harm in walking in there and seeing what was going on.

Each step he took up the stairs to the throne room doors was muffled thanks to the loud yelling inside the throne room. When he got to the door, it was clear it was two men shouting at each other.

Percy tried to push the doors open but instead he ended up phasing right through them like he was a ghost. The sight in front of him was shocking to say the least.

His dad and Zeus were in the middle, faces red and weapons bared as they shouted at each other. Their voices shook the throne room. The other thrones were empty, meaning either the gods didn't know the argument or had left when it started.

"You can't keep me from seeing him!" Poseidon bellowed, "He needs my help!"

"Your son can handle some drama on his own!" Zeus shouted back, "You don't see everyone else rushing to camp just because their child is going through hard times, do you?"

"I'm not everyone else." Poseidon said, "Unlike you, I actually care about my son."

Percy couldn't help but see the pure rage in his father's eyes, it was almost frightening seeing his dad this angry. He was used to seeing Poseidon in an easy-going mood but he was downright furious at the moment.

"If you are implying I don't care about my children then you are wrong." Zeus said.

"Oh really?" Poseidon asked, "How many times have you visited Thalia or Jason? Have you even attended a single one of their birthdays?"

"I don't need to—"

"You're right, you don't need to. If you cared, you'd still do it anyways. A good parent is there for their child, even if they don't need to be." Poseidon said, "I bet that's what this is all about, you don't want anyone else on Olympus thinking that I'm the better father because you're insecure!"

"Enough!" Zeus shouted, a roar of thunder shaking the throne room, "I forbid you from visiting Percy Jackson. If I catch you visiting him, I will punish him for your actions. Do not defy me."

Poseidon gritted his teeth, his knuckles turning white around his trident. His sea green eyes were filled with so much fury.

Percy stepped back from the standoff, he had no idea his dad had heard his prayers. Now that he could see what exactly had happened, all the bitterness he had towards his father all but dissipated.

The throne room suddenly shook and rumbled before suddenly everything fell away. Percy's surroundings eventually reformed, putting him in the middle of a forest. He looked around and found that he was just outside of a huge campsite.

The campsite had a dozen tents or so and they weren't the typical storebought tents, these tents were made of canvas. A few of the tents had antlers and some monster trophies mounted above them. Smoke billowed from the middle of the camp, the black smoke contrasting against the light blue sky.

Percy walked towards the middle of the camp, passing a few Hunters as he did so. Eventually, he reached the middle of the camp where he found Annabeth, Thalia, Reyna, and Artemis sitting around a campfire.

Reyna was sitting with her legs crossed next to Annabeth, "I find it hard to believe that Percy would do any of that stuff. I haven't known him for as long as you have but when he was at Camp Jupiter, he was pretty good to everyone, well, everyone except Octavian. Honestly, I didn't think he'd make it because he cared too much."

"That's just it, I should've known that." Annabeth said with her knees pressed to her chest, "I don't know why I even believed half the shit everyone was saying he did, I was just so mad that we lost the race that I didn't even stop to think what was happening to him."

Artemis was in the middle of sharpening her hunting knife, she didn't add anything to the conversation but Percy could tell she was listening.

"Well, whatever happened back at camp, we need to focus on getting Percy back right now." Thalia said, "We can bring our hounds in to track him down but we'll need to be quick, we don't know who took him and what they're doing with him."

Artemis spoke up, "I will be accompanying you all. I haven't spoke to Athena yet but if what Annabeth said is true, then it is essential we rescue Percy."

Annabeth stood up right away, "Then let's go!"

Thalia chuckled as she got to her feet, "Alright, Annabeth, let's go save your little boyfriend."